Stand and Deliver!
by Darkkitty94
Summary: Rinela, the Nerevarine meets Nels Llendo, the highwayman. Crassius Curio will also be making some appearences. Rated M for possible future sexy scenes
1. Prologue - Stand and Deliver!

**A/N - When I first met Nels Llendo I immediately thought of this song watch?v=4B2a6l6wM2k so I decided to make him look a bit like Adam Ant in my descriptions X3 Anyway, this first chapter is written in third person but the rest will be from Rinela's POV and I hope you enjoy!**

* * *

It was a peaceful, sunny day on Vvardenfel. The sky was blue, green light was filtering through the surrounding trees, the sound of water moving in the nearby lake Hairan, all in all it was rather beautiful. Rinela Lladothren was traveling to Pelagiad, exploring the region. She'd been here for three months now and still had much of the island left to see. She'd almost arrived in Pelagiad when a voice yelled from a tree.

"STAND AND DELIVER!" It cried, making her jump and yelp from surprise more than anything. A Dunmer leapt from the tree, landing in front of her. He was clad in bonemold armour over expensive looking clothing, and had a mask covering his eyes. He seemed to have a white stripe painted across his nose and cheeks and a few random braids amongst his red hair. He removed the mask and held one of his glass daggers out in front of him. "Your money or..." he stopped, taking in the female Dunmer before his eyes. She had long black hair that was pulled back into a ponytail, which emphasised her high cheekbones and well defined nose. Her eyes were light purple in colour, unusual for a dark elf, and angled in such a manner that he could tell she was an outlander. She was wearing a full body of armour so he couldn't tell what it was like but she was beautiful nonetheless. He quickly put away the dagger and bowed to her, leaving her very confused. "Forgive me, madame, I did not intend to frighten you. Nels Llendo, at your service." Nels took one of Rinela's hands and kissed it, causing her to blush. She certainly recognised him, he was a legend to the lower down members of the Thieves Guild.

"Rinela Lladothren." Rinela introduced herself to the bandit.

"Such a beautiful name. I see from your blush that my own name is familiar to you. Fear not, for I am not as dangerous a highwayman as people would have you to believe! I am not going to rob you, but I will ask for something more valuable than I have ever solicited from a client." The highwayman was certainly charming, Rinela admitted to herself. It had been expected though. The stories told by her brother thieves portrayed him as equally the most charming and deadly person she'd meet. While she didn't think he seemed deadly, her certainly looked powerful and wouldn't want to get on the wrong side of him. She raised an eyebrow at him curiously, wondering what he could possibly want from her if it was not gold.

"What could be so special?" She asked the bandit skeptically.

"I humbly ask for a mere kiss."

"Oh, well if that's all..." Rinela said, grabbing onto Nels' shoulders and giving him a gentle kiss on the lips. He blinked a few times, surprised at how sudden the kiss had been, and that she had given in to his request so graciously.

"Ah, Rinela, though it is I they call a thief, it is you who has stolen my heart. Such a precious gift, worth more than all the gold in Duke Dren's vaults. I must take my leave from you now, my dear, but I shall be at the Halfway Tavern in Pelagiad for some time. Good day." He bowed again and sped north. Rinela almost called after him as she would be travelling the same way, but she decided not to so she could take her time and enjoy the scenery.

* * *

Half an hour later, Nels Llendo was in the tavern speaking to another self confessed highwayman by the name of Nelos Onmar, whom had also recently had his heart taken by a female. He felt a tap on his shoulder and turned to see Rinela standing behind him. "Rinela...I must say I did not expect to see you again so soon."

"You must have left quite an impression, Nels." Nelos said, looking like he was going to burst out laughing. Rinela frowned at the other bandit before turning her attention back to Nels.

"I was actually on my way here anyway. There is something I would like to ask of you. I...I noticed that you seemed quite capable with your dagger and, well, I myself am skilled with a long blade but I have a great deal of difficulty with short blades."

"I think she wants to see your dagger." Nelos whispered to Nels, who chuckled but didn't seem entirely amused.

"Perhaps we could practice on your friend here." Rinela hissed, glaring at him.

"I...I think I'd better go and find Maurrie. Nice catching up with you, Nels." Nelos said quickly and promptly left.

"Of course I'll train you, dear Rinela. Please accept my apologies for Nelos' words, he can be...quite crude at times." Nels said to Rinela, smiling.

"No harm done." She smiled back. Nels stared for a moment, taking in her beauty. It took him a second to snap out of his thoughts.

"That is a relief, I feared he may have upset you, but you seem to be a hardy woman. Regarding training, do you happen to have any spare rat meat?"

"Yes, I believe there's some in my alchemy bag."

"Excellent. I have a room upstairs that we can train in, if you're comfortable with that?" Nels asked the outlander. Rinela nodded in return. He led her upstairs to the room he was renting.

* * *

"The first thing you need to understand when using a short blade over a long one is that you need to be far, far more stealthy. Are you a very stealthy person, Rinela?"

"Not...really." She shook her head sheepishly.

"Not a problem, dear, we can work on that later if you'd like. The second thing you need to bear in mind is that a dagger requires more force to penetrate the flesh because of the length. Allow me to demonstrate." Nels stabbed his dagger into the chunk of rat meat in front of him.

By the time evening fell they had moved on to stealth. Rinela hadn't mastered using short blades in any way but she had become more skilled which was an accomplishment. She was now attempting to sneak up on the bandit which had been unsuccessful so far. "I can hear you, my dear." Nels said, a smile playing at the edges of his mouth. She cursed under her breath. "Shall I demonstrate again?"

"Fine." Rinela said, switching places with the highwayman. She closed her eyes and squealed when she felt a kiss land on her lips. She opened her eyes in shock to find Nels in front of her looking away awkwardly.

"I'm sorry, dear Rinela, I don't know what came over me. Being so bold was not my intention..." Nels apologised.

"It's...it's fine, I don't mind you being bold with me..." Rinela responded, the kiss lingering on her mind. Nels raised an eyebrow at her and stepped closer.

"Then you wouldn't mind if..." He began before wrapping an arm around her waist and holding the back of her head in his other hand, kissing her with full force. She let out an almost inaudible moan which Nels still noticed and used it as encouragement to push her onto the bed and continue kissing her.

* * *

_And that's it for now, I hope my writing is ok, I'm still pretty inexperienced as an author but I can only get better by practicing, right?_


	2. Strip

_Thank you both for the reviews :3 I'm glad to see Nels still has a small fanclub XD Anyway, from this point on the story will mostly be told from Rinela's point of view. Thanks for reading!_

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I awoke the following morning to see an attractive dunmer male sleeping next to me, and the memories of the previous night came flooding back. I remembered being seduced by Nels Llendo, the highwayman, I remembered the feel of his mouth against my body, I remembered how his strong hands had gripped me, and I remembered how...domineering he'd been. All of this added up to a very pleasurable and memorable night that I wasn't going to forget. It was unfortunate that I had to return to Balmora as soon as I could, as much as I would have liked to spend more time with him, these alchemical formulas I "borrowed" from Aurane Frenis weren't going to deliver themselves. I left a note on the side table along with a glove of mine. The note read:

_Nels,_

_I am sorry I couldn't say this in person, but I am afraid I must return to my travels. I've left this glove as a souvenir. Thank you for a memorable evening, I hope our paths cross again soon._

_Rinela_

_xxx_

* * *

Three months later, Rinela was a Bandit to the Thieves Guild, a Journeyman to the Mages guild and had advanced to Oathman in House Hlaalu. All of this, and the fact that she'd been attacked several times by assassins from the Dark Brotherhood, as well as following orders from Caius Cosades, meant that she'd had no chance to return to Pelagiad, much to her and Nels' disappointment. She was in Balmora discussing business with Nileno Dorvayn following successful closure of the Sudanit Ebony Mine.

* * *

"I'm very happy with your work Rinela, but unfortunately I do not have the authority to promote you further. You'll need to have one of our councillors sponsor you." Nileno explained. I hadn't heard much about the councillors so I didn't have any idea of how to go about this.

"Oh...well, who do you think would sponsor me?"

"Crassius Curio is your best bet, he lives atop the Hlaalu Canton in Vivec. He's a bit eccentric but his...weaknesses allow him to be easily manipulated."

"Weaknesses?"

"You'll see for yourself. I am not at liberty to discuss his...habits."

"Very well. I shall return when I have his approval."

The walk to Vivec was long and arduous. I passed through many environments and was attacked by many creatures. I had considered stopping in Pelagiad but I suspected that if I ran into Nels ugly words could be spoken considering how long it had been since we met.

I found Curio's manor easily, it was a large building on the highest level of the Hlaalu Canton. I entered and was met by two Dunmer who were strangely welcoming compared to the majority of the natives of this land. They directed me downstairs to one of the bedrooms. I thought it odd that this Crassius Curio dealt with business in his bedroom but I had a growing suspicion that he was the sort that saw no harm in mixing business with pleasure. My suspicions were confirmed when I entered his room and he spoke to me.

"Hello there sweetie, are you lost? Have you come to have Uncle Crassius take care of you?"

Uncle Crassius? Nileno was right, he certainly is odd.

"Um..no..Nileno Dorvayn sent me."

"Ah yes, you must be Rinela. I am Crassius Curio, councilman of the Great House Hlaalu." He brushed his fingers down my cheek, his touch warm against my cool skin. He wasn't an unattractive man for an imperial (though he was no Nels Llendo) and he seemed to be a somewhat pleasant man despite his "weaknesses" as Nileno put it. I decides I'd better suck up to him as much as I could, however uncomfortable that thought made me.

"It is an honour to meet you, muthsera. I have heard great things about your deeds."

something else I had no idea he was in theatre, but I did know what he was hinting at. I didnYour deeds for House Hlaalu, sera. I admire your stance on corruption when it seems that the rest of the House is not so

"I think you'll do nicely...yes very nicely indeed, Rinela." Crassius Curio muttered. His request had been odd but I was willing to do anything to progress in House Hlaalu. Well, not quite anything but I would certainly go as far as to undress in front of someone. If satisfying his needs could get me ahead of other Lawmen (or Lawwomen in my case) then I was prepared to do just that. I could feel his eyes upon her body as I tightened her curiass. My ribs ached; I couldn't remember the last time I'd spent a full day without any armour but since several assassination attempts from the Dark Brotherhood had been made on my life, I did not sleep unprotected. Even when I wasn't sleeping in the wild, I remained fully armoured and my body was certainly letting me know this.

"Will you be in Vivec for long, dumpling?" Curio asked. His use of such a pet name was certainly unexpected but it didn't wholeheartedly bother me.

"I...I was planning to return to my travels." I explained, not wanting to spend another moment in his company.

"Well, it is late, my dear. I simply wouldn't feel comfortable with you leaving at such an hour. The Ordinators may be strong but Vivec isn't completely safe at night...especially if you enter the wrong Canton!"

"I can defend myself." I stated, offended by his words. "I may be a woman, but I am a skilled spellsword!"

"I am not denying your skills, pudding. I can see that you are quite capable!" He exclaimed, his eyes flicking up and down my body.

"Yes, well, I'd rather sleep in the wild." Curio's eyes widened at the prospect of 'roughing it' as he'd put it.

"I...pudding, the Ascadian Isles are full of bandits and criminals. I don't think it would be safe for you so sleep in the wild."

"Criminals do not frighten me."

"Even so, my sweet. I have heard terrible things about travellers that have decided to chance it. Perhaps...perhaps I could allow you to rest in my own bed tonight? I have spares but they are no where near as comfortable as this one. I have a play to complete, so it is unlikely that I will be in need of it tonight."

I thought for a moment. I had not slept in what one would deem a proper bed in months,and my body was screaming for it, but I decided to decline his offer. I'd rather risk being attacked by bandits than have such a man attempt to lie with me.

"I'm afraid I must decline your offer, Mr. Curio," I stated. He held up his hands.

"Please, call me Crassius."

"Crassius," I began again. "It is important that I return to my travels."

He looked at me with concern in his eyes.

"If you're sure, dumpling..." He brushed a hand down her cheek. I felt my skin tighten under his touch, reminding me of how long it had been since my encounter with Nels Llendo, the highwayman.

"You haven't felt the touch of a man in a long time..." he stated. He was right of course. I smiled when I thought of Nels and the way he'd taken me following their training, the way his strong hands had roamed ny body, the dominance he possessed; which Crassius noticed. "Oh..someone's left an impact on you."

"He was a rogue, a bandit I met the last time I visited Pelagiad. I thought he was going to rob me but all he stole was my hear-" Heart, I almost said.

"Well, he must have left quite an impression. Have you seen him since?"

"No..." I sighed sadly. "What with me being a traveller and him a bandit, our paths have little chance of crossing again."

"Ah...that's a shame, dumpling. Still, I'm certain that after such a length of time an active lady like you would be in need of some-" he paused to flick his eyes up and down my body again. "satisfaction." My mind was still on Nels Llendo. Something told me that I had to find him, and soon.

"I'm sorry Crassius, I have to leave." I said, walking towards the door. To say he looked disappointed would be an understatement.

"You're going to find the bandit aren't you?" He questioned, and I nodded in response. "Very well, but be safe, sweetie." He whispered, embracing me.

"I will." I left the manor swiftly, gaining a few odd looks from the councillor's bodyguards.


	3. The Search for Nels

_It feels like ages since I updated! I handed in my last three assignments for uni yesterday so these past two weeks or so were spent working on them . now I just have exams left in about a month! So updates may be infrequent because I'll be constantly revising but I'll try to update as much as I can! (also this is the first chapter I haven't named after an Adam Ant song...not that you'd care probably XD) Enjoy!_

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It was 3AM when I left Vivec, and it had taken four hours to journey to Pelagiad. Normally it wouldn't nearly have taken so long but along the way I had been attacked a fair few times by wild animals, so I'd had to rest a few times. Nonetheless, it was morning and I headed straight for the Halfway Tavern. Even though I hadn't been expecting Nels to be there, I was still disappointed. I approached the bar to inquire with Drelasa Ramothran. "Good morning sera, you're here early." She said, smiling politely

"Well, time is irrelevant to me. I wanted to ask if...if you knew the whereabouts of someone who was here about three months ago."

"You'd have to describe them, madame. I don't always remember all of my patrons."

"His name is Nels Llendo. He's a Dunmer, red haired..."

"Ah, Nels, my most loyal customer. I remember you now. You know, the whole tavern could hear what you two were up to." I smirked. He had been pretty rough with me. "Last I heard, he was going to Caldera. Said he was going to sell some things to...someone called Creeper? That was only a month ago, I haven't seen him since, strangely." She explained.

"Right. Thank you." I said, and promptly left. I sighed, even though I didn't mind having to travel further. I left Pelagiad and headed Northwest to Balmora. If she remembered correctly, Caldera was just North from there. Caldera was quiet, peaceful. It certainly seemed like an odd place for a bandit to hang out, but this was the only lead I had and I wasn't going to give up my search. There were many Imperial guards around, and I suspected they may know something so I donned my best innocent face, which was redundant because I later realised that she was still wearing a helmet, and approached one of them.

"Good day. I'm an officer of the imperial legion. How can I help?" The guard asked.

"I'm looking for a Dunmer named Nels Llendo, I heard he was here about a month ago? Have you seen him around?" I asked as politely as I could.

"Ah yes, I remember that N'wah. Caught him trying to pickpocket a Hlaalu noble. Take it he's a friend of yours?" I nodded. "He's being held in Fort Buckmouth, just North of here. They should allow visitors if you wish to see him."

"Thank you sera." I nodded at him before leaving through the northern gate. It didn't take me long to arrive at Fort Buckmouth, so I entered the office to speak to the guard on duty.

"Hello sir, what can I do for you?" The guard asked, confusing me for a moment as to why he'd called me sir, but then I remembered the helmet again, so I removed it, and the guard's jaw seemed to drop. "I'm so sorry madame! Please, forgive me." He said, flustered, which did amuse me.

"I'm here to visit someone. Nels Llendo." I stated. Fumbling again, he pulled out a scroll and quill.

"You'll need to fill this in miss." Typical imperial bureaucracy. I took the quill and filled in my name, as well as my intention for visiting and my relation to the prisoner. I returned it to the guard with a smile as sweet as could be managed. He looked it over quickly before nodding and leading me through the door behind him. There, he met with another guard and informed him to take "the woman" to Nels Llendo. The other guard gave me a filthy, blood chilling look before leading me to a cell.

"Llendo! You have a visitor." The guard boomed, frightening me and probably half of the prisoners. He opened the cell and allowed me to enter before locking it. "Sorry lady. Standard procedure. Can't allow the filthy s'wit a chance to escape." I rolled my eyes and turned my attention to Nels, who seemed to be staring at me intently.

"Rinela? You look...more beautiful than I remember." He said in a rough voice. The same couldnt be said for him. His face looked haggard. His cheeks looked hollow, he had many, many more scars (which added to his character and I couldn't help but find them kind of sexy), his red Dunmer eyes were dull and, on the whole, he did not look healthy. All of his finesse and charm seemed to have dissipated as well, which didn't make me feel very comfortable.

"Nels...you don't." I said honestly, causing him to chuckle lightly.

"Always so honest." He smiled at me.

"Seriously though, what on earth are they feeding you?"

"Are you sure you want to know?"

"Nels, I've been in prison, I know how disgusting the food is." I shuddered, remembering the overcooked rat meat and slimy stuff they'd fed me in the Imperial Prison in Cyrodil.

"Undercooked rat meat. It's either that or I starve. I choose to starve." He looked down sadly. I remembered the several ash yams I had in my pocket, so I offered one to him, sitting down on the bed next to him. It disappeared within seconds. "Why are you here, Rinela? It's been three months. Three months! You didn't even bother to try and find me! Why now?" Nels hissed.

"I...I don't know. I've been incredibly busy! I've been up to my eyes in work for the Mages Guild and House Hlaalu, as well as…anyway I got thinking about you last night while on some...business for the House and I felt the urge to come and find you. I went to Pelagiad to see if Drelasa knew were you were. She told me you'd gone to Caldera, and a guard there told me you were here. I hear you've been quite a naughty boy, trying to pickpocket a noble!" He laughed again, which caused him to cough loudly, concerning me. It was clear that he wasn't well. "How long are they keeping you here for?"

"For as long as that fetcher I tried to rob sees fit." Nels kicked the table next to his bed angrily.

"That's awful! Who did you try to rob?"

"That good for nothing creep, Crassius Curio. I suppose you've heard of him."

"Yes...yes I have." I thought for a moment. "Are you allowed to send letters?" I was planning to give him instructions so I could help him get out.

"Yes..."

"Can I write down my address for you?"

"Oh, sure." He picked up some paper from the table he just kicked and a quill. I wrote the following instructions for him:

_ Track the guards' activity. Write down everything they do and the times. Send this information to me in 3 days at the following address: Nerano Manor, Manor District, Balmora, West Gash_

As he read, I could see his eyes tearing up before he pulled me into a tight embrace. I hugged him back, taking in his musky scent. "Thank you, muthsera. Thank you." He loosened his grip on me, but before I could do anything his hands were on the sides of my face and he was kissing me lovingly. Normally I liked to be dominant during intimacy but with Nels it was different. Upon our first encounter I'd admired how bold he was in asking a stranger for a kiss, and when we met up at the Halfway Tavern, well let's just say he'd been very forceful and I'd enjoyed it very much. That was why a quiet moan escaped my lips when he forced his month onto mine. He pushed his tongue into my mouth, further increasing the pleasure that was beginning to radiate from me. I sighed and tangled my fingers into his ragged hair. I pulled on it, not so hard that I'd hurt him but hard enough for him to feel it. It seemed to have the same effect on him as it had on me, because he then proceeded to push me down onto the bed so he could climb on top of me. He continued kissing me before moving down to kiss and bite bite my neck. I guess he remembered how much I enjoyed that last time. We didn't notice the five or so guards that had gathered outside the cell until two of them prised him off me.

"Oi! Didn't you hear me?" One of the guards holding Nels shouted at me. I shook my head sheepishly. The guard huffed and rolled his eyes. "Your visiting time is up!" I glared at the guard, who was putting shackles around Llendo's ankles, a little too tightly it seemed.

"At least give me a chance to say goodbye."

"Fine, but be quick. And no funny business!" The guard all but threw Nels towards me. I embraced him tightly.

"I'll get you out of here, I promise." I whispered very quietly into his ear. He nodded, and touched his lips to mine before we parted.

"Thank you for the visit, sera."

"I'll see you soon." I said to him before leaving the cell.

"Miss Lladorthren!" The guard in the office called just as I was about to leave. I whipped around to see a small box on the table. "I knew your name sounded familiar! Caius Cosades left us this package for you in case you were ever here." "Thank you, sera." I said politely. I had no idea what could be in the package but I guessed it could be of use if Caius has left it.

"Listen, about Nels...is there any way I could pay for his release?" I needed a back up option in case I couldn't help him escape.

"Sorry ma'am, nothing we can do here. It's up to his victim to let us know when they think he's suffered enough."

"Right. Thank you." I said before leaving. I sighed. That meant that I had to return to Vivec, and the only foreseeable way I could persuade Crassius to release be to use my body again, something I didn't want to do. If it came to it I could threaten him but….was intimidation really my style? Regardless, I had to do something and I knew that breaking Nels out of the Fort would be incredibly difficult. I thought back to my time in the prison in Cyrodil…and the way people who tried to escape were treated. I didn't wish that upon anyone, least of all Nels. I decided to travel back down to my house (well, the house I'd taken over) in Balmora to rest an think this over.


End file.
